Etymology From Ecclesiastical Latin sine cūrā (literally “without care”), ellipsis of beneficium sine cūrā (“benefice without cure [of souls, i.e. the office of a curate]”), formed from Medieval Latin sine (“without”) + cūrā (“care, charge, cure”).
1
A position that requires little to no work, or easy work, but still gives an ample payment; a cushy job.
Miss Briggs was not formally dismissed, but her place as companion was a sinecure and a derision […]1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 14, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
A lucrative sinecure in the Excise was bestowed on Ferguson.1851, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XI, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume III, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 35:
4 more examples
His prospects consisted of a hope that if he kept up appearances somebody would do something for him. The something appeared vaguely to his imagination as a private secretaryship or a sinecure of some sort.1912 (date written), [George] Bernard Shaw, “Pygmalion. Sequel: What Happened Afterwards.”, in Androcles and the Lion, Overruled, Pygmalion, London: Constable and Company, published 1916, →OCLC, page 196:
With extra traffic, numerous boat trains to and from Southampton Docks, and working of empty stock, his job, like that of most signalmen, is no sinecure.1954 September, 'South Western', “Shawford Junction Signalbox”, in Railway Magazine, page 604:
In the ADF, while the numbers vary between the individual services and the reserves, employment is no comfortable sinecure for any personnel and thus does not appeal to many people, male or female, especially under current pay scales.2009, Michael O'Connor, Quadrant, November 2009, No. 461 (Volume LIII, Number 11), Quadrant Magazine Limited, page 25
However, by the time of World War II (if not before), politics, at least in the federal sphere, was no longer regarded as sinecure for well-intentioned part-timers.2010, Mungo MacCallum, The Monthly, April 2010, Issue 55, The Monthly Ptd Ltd, page 28
2
Historical An ecclesiastical benefice without the care of souls.
Etymology From Ecclesiastical Latin sine cūrā (literally “without care”), ellipsis of beneficium sine cūrā (“benefice without cure [of souls, i.e. the office of a curate]”), formed from Medieval Latin sine (“without”) + cūrā (“care, charge, cure”).
1
Requiring no work for an ample reward.
By the act of union (1800), the offices of Irish secretary, a sinecure post, and lord lieutenant's secretary were combined.2006, Desmond Keenan, Post-Famine Ireland: Social Structure: Ireland as It Really Was, page 184:
2
Having the appearance of functionality without being of any actual use or purpose.
The old man hastily pulled down his spectacles from their sinecure office on his forehead, and looked at her with an expression of most angry amazement.1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter VII, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 157:
sinecure
verb
Etymology From Ecclesiastical Latin sine cūrā (literally “without care”), ellipsis of beneficium sine cūrā (“benefice without cure [of souls, i.e. the office of a curate]”), formed from Medieval Latin sine (“without”) + cūrā (“care, charge, cure”).